Motor-driven valve mechanism.



, PATENTED AUG. 13, 1907. E. G. HOWARD.

MOTOR DRIVEN VALVE MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 31, 1902.

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3 I Gimp No. 868,180. PATENTED AUG. 18, 1907.

E. G. HOWARD.

MOTOR DRIVEN VALVB MEGHANISM. APPLICATION mum MAR. 31. 1902.

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E. G. HOWARD.

MOTOR DRIVEN VALVE MECHANISM.

. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 31, 1902.

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nvem roz zmwmom I 7 63 m fi$ W I 62. W. I (a No. 863,180. BATENTED AUG.13, 1907.

I E. G. HOWARD.

MOTOR DRIVEN VALVE MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 31, 1902. v

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m 1.2 mli 26 24 E 1 E W I II V g 25 2+ E5 FIBJS- wikwwoaa g V I gz rjif"KQCQ/LQQ' k2 ma xxs ML/ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MANUFACTURINGCOMPANY, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSAClllSE'lTS, A CORPORATION OF.

MASSACHUSETTS.

MOTOR-DRIVEN ALVE MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 13, 1907.

Application filed March 31. 1902. Serial No. 100,699.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST G. HOWARD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and Commonwealth ofMassachusetts, have invented new and useful-Motor-Driven ValveMechanism, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in mechanism by which power istransmitted from a motor to the plug or gate of a valve, to open andclose the same, in which one or more lost'motion devices are introducedat convenient points; and the objects of my improvement are, first, toprovide means'whereby a comparatively small motor can be employed foractuating the gate; second, to furnish simple and effective means orthis purpose; third, to effect a saving in expense of construction andoperation; and, fourth, to afford such means applicable to any of thewell-known forms of water, steam, or other valve construction havingeither an outside or inside screw. I

Hcretofore, in order to employ an electric motor for operating. largevalves, it has been necessary to resort to the use of onewhich was verymuch larger than would be required for simply actuating the gate afterbeing started, owing to the increased amount of power required to startor release said gate. When the gate is actuated into either ofitsextreme positions, or reaches the limit of its travel in other words,it becomes wedged into place or binds and the screw by. which said gateis operated also binds, and considerably more force is required tounlock said screw and start the gate than would be necessary in theabsence of such frictional resistance, more in fact than is actuallyneeded for the-continuation of the balance of the opening or closingoperation. My invention renders a smallmotor entirely adequate for theperformance of all work requireghin the operation of valves, byproviding a suitable lost motion device or devices between the motor andgate, whereby the motor is enabled to gatherv invention, and having amotor attached thereto; Fig.

2, a plan view of one of the lost motion devices shown in Fig. 1; Fig:3, a side yiew and partial section of said valve, the motor andintermediate shaft mechanismbeing omitted; Fig. 4, aside view of theupper portion of a Worm-gear valve mechanism embodying my invention,

certain parts being in section and broken away; Fig.

5, a side view of the lost motion device shown in Fig. 4, showing theslip ring and gear disconnected; Fig. 6,

slip ring; Fig. 8, a plan view of the worm-gear; Fig. 9, Y

a sectional view of a body and gate showing a modified form of lift;Fig. 10, a side view of the upper portion of a valve mechanism withmotor attached, showing the application of a lost motion device andbevel gears, also sprocket connections, the gears being in section; Fig.11, a bottom view of the large bevel gear and spindle nut; Fig. 12, anedge view of a gate showing a lost motion device applied thereto; Fig.13, a longitudinal section of the gate shown in Fig. 12; Fig.'l4, alongitudinal section of a gate showing a lost motion device for aninside screw; Fig. 15, a horizontal section on lines $Z, Fig. 14; andFig. 16, a sectional view of a modification showing the applicationofthe slip ring to the Fig. 1 construction.

Valves are divided into two classes, one in which an outside screw isused and the other in which an inside screw is used. The oulsidc screwconstruction comprises a spindle threaded at its upper or outer terminalto engage a revolving spindle nut, and the inside screw constructioncomprises a spindle threaded at its lower or inner terminal to engagethe gate. In the first instance the spindle travels and carries thevalve with it, and in the second instance the spindle has nolongitudinal movement, but the gate moves up or down on'the same. Withthe exception of Figs. 14 and 15, which are illustrations of the secondclass, the drawings illustrate the first class, hence itwill be seenthat my invention is applicable to either construction. Furthermore isapplicable to various kinds of gearing.

Broadly considered, my invention consists of a lost motion deviceintroduced into the valve mechanism between the motor and the gate, andthe essential features of said device are rotary members provided withclutch projections extending into each others paths of travel, thecombined arcs of said projections being less than a complete circle, ornuts adapted to reciprocate within predetermined bounds. Either theclutch projections or reciprocating nut, 01 both,

may be employed in connection with outside or inside screw mechanism Iorvalves.

Similar figures refer to similar parts throughout the several views. i

Referring to Figs. 1 and 3, a yoke 20 is mounted on a cap 21 which inturn is mounted on a body 22. The passage 23 through the body 22 isshown closed by a gate 24. The gate 24 is guided by ribs or splines inthe usual manner. A spindle 25 threaded at its upper terminal, extendsthrough the center of the yoke 20 and cap 21 which is provided with asuitable stufiingbox and follower for said spindle, and the lattercontinues downward through the gate 24. Collars 26 26 are integral withor fast on the spindle 25, the collar 26" being located above the top ofthe gate 24 while the collar 26 is receivedinto a recess 27. The recess27 is of greater height than the collar 26 contained therein. A collar28 is located at the base of the spindle 25 or an extension thereof. Alift 29 is pivoted at 30 to lugs 31 on the bottom of the gate 24, andhas a bifurcated terminal which embraces the spindle 25 above the collar28, while an car 32 extends from said lift to bear upon a projection 33rising from the floor of the body 22.

The threaded terminal of the spindle 25 is engaged by an internallythreaded nut 34 which fits loosely in the top of the yoke head 35 inwhich it is permitted to reciprocate within the limits fixed by anintegral collar 36 below said head and a collar 37 screwed onto collar42 is screwed onto the base of the nut 34 to hold.

the gear 41 in place, but said gear is adapted to turn freely on saidnut.

An intermediate shaft 43 has its hearings in brackets extending from theyoke. A hand wheel 44 is mounted on the top of the shaft 43, a largegear 45 at the bottom, and a small gear 46 at an intermediate point,said gears being tight on said shafti Th'egear 46 meshes with the gear41 and is wide enough to permit the. latter to move up and down with thenut 34 and at the same time re main in mesh with said gear 46. The gear45 meshes with a small gear 47 on the shaft 48 of a motor 49 which issecurely bolted to the yoke.

The clutch projections 39 and 40 are represented as one quarter segmenteach, as are those shown in other views, but it will be understood thatthese dimensions may be varied so long as their united arcs do not'formacomplete circle in which event no lost motion would be possible, ofcourse. The smaller the arcs the greater will be the amount of lostmotion and the greater the number of revolutions of the motor before itdoes any material work, as will be presently explained.

When the gate 24 is closed, the mechanism hereinbefore describedoperates as follows to open the same. The motor 49 is set in motion andcauses the gear 41 to revolve through the medium of the gears 47, 45 and46, and said gear 41 turns freely on the spindle nut 34 until the frontend of the projection 40 encounters the front end of the projection 39when said nut begins to rotate. Thisis the first lost motion and, if thegear 47 revolves twelve times as fast as the gear 41 for example, andeach clutch projection is a quadrant, the motor makes six revolutionsbefore the nut 34 begins to turn provided the rear ends of the clutchprojections were in conjunc-v tion at the start as would ordinarily bethe case. ,The nut 34 now travels down the spindle 25 until the collar37 comes in contact with the top of the head 35. This is a second lostmotion since the spindle 25 is not affected until the abovementionedcontact occurs. Assuming that the spindle 25 is provided with atwo-pitch thread and the nut 34 turns once around before the. collar 37and head 35 contact, the motor must have made eigh; een revolutions upto this time. Owing to the extra width of the gear 46 the gear 4] isalways in mesh with the same, as hereinbel'ore stated. The revolving nut34 next begins to perform its work of elevating the gathers sutlicientmomentum to first'unlock the nut 34 from the spindle, for it will beremembered that the collar 36 was jammed tight against the bottom of thehead 35 before said nut was turned, and second to overcome theresistance offered by frictional contact between the gate and its seatthereby starting the former. A third lostmotion is therefore providedfor by the recess 27 as explained. Ordinarily provision for one or atmost two lost motions in a single valve, is all that is required,although three devices for this purpose have been set forth for the sakeof illustration; it will, therefore, be understood that any one or twoof those shown may be omitted. The motor continues to revolve and thegate 24 is raised by the spindle 25 until the fori'ner strikes the topof the cap 21 which prevents further movement in this direction andcauses the motor to stop. The gatc'is now open and the nut 34 binds hardon the spindle.

To close the gate, reverse the motor to actuate the rotary andreciprocating members in the opposite directions to those previouslydescribed. In this case the gear 4l turns freely until the rear end ofthe clutch projection 40 en ounters the rear end of the projection 39;then the nut 34 is unlocked and travels up on the spindle until thecollar 36 again bears against the yoke head; next the spindle descendsuntilthe collar 26 strikes the bottom of the recess 27; and finally thegate is lowered and wedged into place at the bottom of the body 22 andthe motor stops.

The lift 29 is useful for valves subjected to great pressure. as water,on one side, and operates as follows z- When the spindle 25 begins torise the collar 28 encounters the bifurcated end of the lift and saidlift priesthe gate out of its wedged position, assisting the same tostart on its upward travel through the medium of the car 32 which bearson the projection 33. No work is done by the lift in closing the gate.

Two lifts 29 may be employed, as shown in Fig. 9, the same beingoperated by means of-spindle extensions 25 25 depending from the collaror cross-box 26 on the end of the spindle 25, each extension having acollar 28 on its lower end. This construction provides against lateralstrain or bind.

The hand wheel 44 is used to open or close the gate when for any reasonit is not possible or desirable to I employ the motor, and may alsoserve in the capacity of a balance-wheel for the mechanism; the same istrue of the hand wheels shownin the other forms of con struction. Thewheel 44 may be turned freely until the lost motions are taken up, whenit operates in the usual manner.

In Fig. 4 I show a yoke 20 slightly changed in construction from theyoke 20. and dispense with intermediate. shaft and gears and thereciprocating spindle nut. A non-reciprocating spindle nut 34" is hereused and held against longitudinal movement by a shoulder or collar 36below and a collar 37 above the head 35, said collars bearing againstsaid head. A worm gear 41 instead of a-spur gear, is loose on the nut34, and; meshes with a worm 47 on the motor shalt 48. The gear 4] has aclutch projection 40. A slip ring 50 provided with a clutch projection39 normally extending into the path of the gear projection, is held tothe nut 34 above the gear 41 by means of a key 51 and a pin 52 whichlatter passes through said ring and registers with an opening in saidnut. A second opening 53 is made in the nut 34 above the first. A handWheel 44 is mounted on the upper end of the spindle nut.

When the parts occupy the positions shown in Fig. 4, the gear 41 makes ahalf turn before unlocking the nut 34 and causing the spindle 25 torise. Assuming that the worm and gear are as fit'ty to one for example,the former must make twenty-five revolutions before the motor begins todo any actual work and, if one of the lost motion devices be employed atthe gate end of the spindle. more revolutions of said motor are requiredto commence the operation of raising the gate. By reversing the motorthe mechanism is actuated to close the gate as before.

In order to operate. the spindle by hand. disengage the pin 52 from thenot opening, raise the ring 50 until its projection 39 clears the planeof the project-ion 40, and insert. the end oi said pin in the openingThe spindle can now be operated by the hand wheel through the spindlenut, without disturbing the gear connections, since said nut turnsfreely in the worm gear.

In Fig. 16, I show a method whereby the slip ring previously described,can be applied to the reciprocating spindle nutof the Fig. lconstructitm, llere the clutch projection 39 is on the ring 50 insteadof being on the nut. 34 which latter is lcngthem-d sutlicicntly toreceive said ring and allow for whalcver movement is required todisengage tin-clutch projections 39 and 40. The construction.arrangement. and op -rulion of the several members in this vicw, aresimilar to what. has been heroinbchrre fully described.

The lost motion device shown in Figs. 14 and J may be used in connection with the inside -screw construction.

in a recess 27" in the gate 24. The spindle 25 passes through the nut26" which is threaded to receive the r threaded terminal of saidspindle. Since the proportions and size oi the nut 26" permit. the sameto move up and down in the. recess 27", but do not allow it to turn insaid recess, it will be readily seen. that, in closing the gate, saidnut is actuated downward by the spindle until the bottom oi the recessis encountered, beiore said gate is affected, after which the latterbegins to move. And just the reverse is true when the opening operationtakes place.

In Fig. a yoke supports the motor and. a spindle which is operated by anut M. A bevel gear 4l is loose on the. nut. 34 between the nut collar36 and the yoke head nut 34 is prevented by collars 37 and 38 screwedonto the same above the head 35. The collar 36 has a clutch projection39 adapted to be engaged by the projection 40 on the underside oi thegear 4l. The g ar 41 meshes with a small bevel gear 46 tight. on theintermediate shaft 43 which is placed horizontally in this case anddriven by a chain 54 connecting a large sprocket wheel 45 on said shaftwith a small sprocket wheel 47 on the. motor shaft 48. The opera- Thisdevice consists'of a nut 26" located.

Vertical movement of the.

tion of this mechanism does not differ materially from what has alreadybecnl'ully described. A hand -wheol 44 is placed on'thc outer end oPtheshaft 43 for operating the spindle 25 when the motor is not in use.

In connection with the collar 26 shown.in Figs. 1 and 3, it should hestated that a spline in the recess 27, engages the. collar 26 andprevents the latter with the spindle 25 from rotating. As shown in thesefigures, the collar 26 merely assists the collar 26 in closing the gateand may be omitted, or this work can be performed entirely by saidcollar 26 it it is desired to cut down the bottom of the recess 27.

In place 01' the collar or member 26, shown in Fig.

l. a block or member 26 may be used, as shown in motor and the yoke lugs59, a bushing of insulating material is inserted in each motor foot holefor the bolt til, and washers (i2 (32 of like matciial are introducedbetween each bolt head 63 and nut 64, meta-1 lic washers (S5 65 beinginserted between said washers 62 and said head and nut. The motorpinions or small gears 47, thc worm 47, and the sprocket wheel 47, are,in this case, made of raw-hide. or other suitable insulating material.The above is the preferred iorm of insulation, but other suitable meansmay be employed. 5 i i i From the foregoing it will be readilyunderstood that numerous changes and combinations can be made withoutviolating the spirit of my invention, and I desire to include and coverall modifications which fall within the scope of said invention.

The general construction comprising a gate, motorv spindle, drivingmechanism and a 10st motion therein, a hand wheel or balance wheel, andmeans to adjust the lost motion so as to disconnect the motor and leavethe spindle to the control of the hand wheel; and a specificconstruction which is limited to an intermediate shaft having a slipn'ngconncted therewith, are not abandoned by reason of suchconstructions be- ;ing shown, or being adapted to be read into the case,

but not specifically claimed herein, as the same form the subject matterof claims in a divisional co-pending gears, a clutch comprising one ofthe intermediate gears and a collar on said shalt, one'oi the clutchmembers being adapted to move longitudinally into and out of engagementvwith the other, and a hand wheel for operating the spindle when theeluteh members are (lisco1n1eeted; the essential elements already notedin a ('o-pending application tiled by this ap 'nieant,

Serial Number l.lt),8fiti, tiled January 20. i903.

' Whatv I claim as my invention, and desire to seeure hyl.et.t ersPatent, is:

l. The combination with a reeessed valve gate and spindle therefor and amotor to aetuate the spindle. of rotary reeiprm'ating -nut on saidspindle. a gear rotatabit mounted.on said nut, meshing with the motorgearing. clutchprojeetions on the nut. and gear in each others paths oftravel, a collar or member on-the spindle in the gate recess of lessheight than the. latter. and means to hold the eollar or member againstrotary motion.

'2. ".lhe combination with a motor, of a spindle. driving mechanismbetween said motor and spindle comprising rotary members provided witheluteh projections extend ing into each others paths of travel, areeessed gate. a nut or member on the spindle in the gate reeess, saidout being of less height than said recess. and means to hold the nutagainst rotary motion in the recess.

nut adapted to actuate the same. means to limit the longi .tudinalmovement of said nut. a recessed gate. a collar or member on saidspindle in the gate l'et'ess. said collar and a motor, spindle. drivingmeeh- .l. in combination with a spindle and a reeiproeatingrocatingspindle nut; having a clutch projection extending into the path of thefirst-mentioned projection, means to limit the longitudinal movement ofsaid collar or member. a recessed gate. a nut; on the spindle in thegate reeess, said collar or member being of less height. than said'revess. and means to hold the collar or member against rotary motion inthe recess.

T1. in combination with a motor-driven spindle, a gate. a suitable bodyfor the, latter. means to permit said spindle to move for a limiteddistance without. said gate. and a lift interposed between the gate andsaid body and adapted to he aetuated by the. upward independent.movement: of the, spindle and to start the gate from its ti. incombination with a motor. a valve. spindle. a reeiproeating spindle nut,a gear loose on said nut. an intermediate shaft. a gear on said shaftmeshing with the nut gear aml wider than the same. gearing between themotor and the wide gear. and elnteh ploieetions on the nut and its gear,,cxtending into each others paths of travel. substantiallx assetftotrtlt.

T. in combination with a valve. spindle.a'spindle-nut, a motor-driven 5'loose on said nut. and-provided with a clutch projection. a ring keyedto the nut. having a clutch projeetion extending into the path ol' theli st mentioned projection, and means to release said ring and retain itin a position where its projeetion is out or the plane of the gearprojection. r

S. "lhe combination with a valve and val\'e-steu|.,ot'eontinuously-lnoving automatic mechanism for raising the valve-stem, anda eonneetion between the valve and its stem by which the initialmovement of the stem in the valve is free, whereby the motor may have atr e start and the stem 'strikes the valve a blow in order to start it.

t). The combination with a gate-valve and eleetriealLvoperated meehanismfor opening the. same. at a valvestem attached to the. valve so as tohave lost motion and strike the. valve a blow upon the initial movementof the stem.

in testimony whereof i have signed my name to this speeitieation in thepresence of two subsrribing witnesses.

ERNEST" (i. lltlWAlll).

Witnesses F. A. Common, I DEXTER E. 'llLILIsY.

